Comments on: Chevrolet Cruze on the Wayhttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/
Auto alternatives for the 21st centuryMon, 03 Dec 2012 19:24:39 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2By: flat4feverhttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12669
Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:07:07 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12669As the driver of a 10 year old VW passat wagon with a 1.8L turbo engine commuting 75 miles a day, I can attest to the potential economy of the small engine w/turbo, but can also attest that driving style has a huge effect. My Passat wagon is a fairly heavy car at over 3400#.

Without the turbo,it’s acceleration would be even more dismal than it already is. When its spooled up on the pipe at high boost, it goes pretty good, but only gets about 26 MPG on the highway. Thats at 75-80 MPH.

Now if I accelerate slowly and keep the revs under 3000, (65 MPH) the thing easily gets 33 MPG and if I play a few hypermiler games like coasting down hills and cutting off the A/C when climbing hills, it will jump up to about 37 MPG and has gotten as good as 40.

Bottom line is any pressurized engine, turbo or supercharger is going to use more fuel at high boost tha a comparably sized naturally aspirated engine. If the computer didn’t increase the fuel flow to match the air flow, the engine would run way too lean and eventually destroy itself.

The small turbo engine realtive to the size of the car will be as good or as bad as the driver makes it. It has ther potential to go either way.

]]>By: Brycehttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12668
Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:14:44 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12668The drivetrain that they develop is indeed going to be interesting. : ) The style alone though is indeed pretty impressive. I am happy, and something as small as a 1.4L is bound to produce some impressive fuel economy. With 2/3 the displacement, I can see why it will produce such good fuel economy and with the turbo, o man, beautiful hp too. : ) future car of the masses right here.

Plebes rejoice!!!

]]>By: Freddie Bhttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12667
Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:24:37 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12667Eveything is relative….I read that a GM exec said that the combined MPG for the Cruze is 9 mpg higher than the current Cobalt XFE which is 32 MPG (25 city and 37 hwy). This means that we should expect something like 34 city and 46 hwy? And if you think this is not doable consider this:

The new 2009 2.2 L Cobalt now has variable valve timing which bumps the HP to 155. And yes, the aforementioned 25/37 MPG. No pedestrian Civic, Corolla, Yaris, Fit, Sentra, Versa can touch this combo. And forget about drag racing against the Cobalt, you WILL lose….

Now imagine this:

GM has been adding Direct Injection to some of their higher end vehicles yielding an additional 15% in HP while maintaining fuel economy. Now take the current 155 HP engine, add 15% and you have about 178 HP. Now, create two new smaller engines based on this design for smaller vehicles:
(the current Cobalt is a 2800 lb car). So if you reduce the engine size by 18% and 27% and do the same for the weight of two newer models, say 2300 and 2050 you will wind up with a 145HP, 1.8L engine and 130 HP, 1.6L engine. And the numbers in fuel economy would be even better than the Cobalt, with the 1.6L approaching the new Cruze’s MPG.

Think these HP figures are a stretch???? Think again, Chrysler currently has a 1.8L for sale in the US that makes 148 HP!!!!

I know that GM makes an Aveo with a 1.4 L with about 90 – 100 HP and a 1.2 with about 82 HP for other markets.

Instead, GM spends money developing a totally new engine (will the turbo last?) versus enhancing an already good idea. Yes, I agree that a new vehicle is needed…..

]]>By: RKRBhttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12666
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:44:46 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12666Looks like a good idea and hope it works for GM.
]]>By: Brycehttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12665
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:31:34 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12665perhaps, though, autos are closing the gap in fuel economy thanks to quicker computers, so it may not be much of a difference. GM does have a 6 speed manual at their disposal though if they so choose. There is one in the Pontiac Solstice.
]]>By: Domhttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12664
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:09:04 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12664In that case, they should provide a six speed manual instead… if geared right, that could improve mpg beyond the 5 speed manual or the six speed auto.
]]>By: Brycehttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12663
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:07:01 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12663According to the press release, the car is going to get a 6 speed auto, which would most definetly exceed the 5 speed manual it is purported to be equipped with.

bottom line though, a car with 2/3 the displacement is likely to use less gas, even still when coupled to the turbo.

Because they are too ashamed of the poor reliability of their cars in general.

]]>By: steved28http://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12661
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:13:36 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12661“Noz you should learn how turbo’s work. All they do is add extra hp to the engine, they do this by using exhaust gases.”

You may want to take a lesson yourself.. They use the exhaust gases to spin a fan, which forces more fresh air into the combustion chamber via another fan. Same principle as a blower, but the blower does this off a belt drive. A turbo does not recirculate the exhaust gases, it uses one fan to turn another on the same shaft. The “lag” is due to the fact that the exhaust gases do not spin up the turbo instantaneously, it takes a moment to catch up. A turbo can also inadvertently heat the air it sends to the combustion chamber, which produces a less effective mixture. Which is why many turbos have some type of cooling mechanism for the fresh air intake.

You say the supercharger is bad because “more air is sent to the engine”. A turbo does the exact same thing. And when you increase the air pressure, you gotta increase the fuel.

]]>By: Domhttp://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-cruze-on-the-way-24906/#comment-12660
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:26:57 +0000http://127.0.0.1/wordpress12/?p=3490#comment-12660It’d better have a manual transmission… actually, I imagine the only model that will actually get 40mpg will be the manual…
And to echo and previous comment – why can’t we get the diesel engine??? VW just released their new 2.0l TDI for 50-state sale, and they are ALL selling as soon as they arrive (and most are spoken for before they arrive via waiting lists). A good clean efficient diesel engine will sell in the US. It just needs some re-education on the public’s end…
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